Bubba Wallace’s career highlights

By Jessica Ruffin | Saturday, August 12, 2017

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Check out this piece of history: Bubba Wallace will drive for Richard Petty Motorsports next season, joining Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney as full-time Monster Energy Series drivers. All five were part of the NASCAR Next program. Scroll through for more of Wallace Jr.'s career highlights.

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Iowa, 2012: Bubba Wallace came onto the NASCAR scene on May 20, 2012, when he made his first national series start of a four-race stint as a development driver for Joe Gibbs Racing in the XFINITY Series. Wallace drove the No. 20 Toyota to a ninth-place finish in his first start at Iowa Speedway, nabbing finishes of seventh, 10th and 12th following that.

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Martinsville, 2013: Kyle Busch Motorsports announced that Wallace would pilot the No. 54 Toyota beginning in the 2013 Camping World Truck Series season, marking Wallace's debut in the Truck Series. He earned 10 top-10 finishes leading up to his first national series victory at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 26, 2013. With the win, Wallace became the second African-American driver to win a national series race, with Hall of Fame driver Wendell Scott winning the first in 1964.

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Gateway, 2014: Wallace earned his second Truck Series win on June 14, 2014 at Gateway Motorsports Park. The then-20-year-old driver started from the outside pole and held off German Quiroga by .329 seconds for the victory.

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Eldora, 2014: Three races after his win at Gateway, Bubba was back in Victory Lane; this time, at the Tony Stewart-owned dirt track of Eldora Speedway. Wallace led a race-high 97 laps en route to a 5.489-second margin of victory over Ron Hornaday Jr.

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Martinsville, 2014: Wallace landed back in Victory Lane at Martinsville in 2014, when he won from the pole position after pacing the field for 97 laps. His win was special in more than one way, as his No. 34 Toyota featured 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Wendell Scott, the only other African-American driver besides Wallace to win in NASCAR.

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Homestead-Miami, 2014: He may not have won the Camping World Truck Series championship, but Wallace did close out the 2014 season on a high note, as he took the checkered flag in the season finale on Nov. 14 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Wallace held off fellow NASCAR Next driver Kyle Larson for the W to win by .293 seconds.

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2015: Wallace moved to Roush Fenway Racing to pilot the No. 6 Ford in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Wallace had six XFINITY starts under his belt prior to the 2015 season, all with Joe Gibbs Racing. He earned a 12th-place result in his Roush debut at Daytona International Speedway in Feb. 2015.

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Pocono, 2017: With Aric Almirola sidelined by injury, Wallace made four starts in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in the No. 43 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. He made his debut in NASCAR's elite series on June 11, 2017 at Pocono Raceway, piloting the iconic No. 43 Ford to a 26th-place result.

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Kentucky, 2017: Wallace's final run in the No. 43 Ford ended up being his career-best race in the Monster Energy Series; Wallace earned an 11th-place result at Kentucky Speedway on July 8, 2017, just ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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Michigan, 2017: Wallace piloted the No. 99 MDM Motorsports Chevrolet on Aug. 12, 2017 in the Camping World Truck Series at Michigan International Speedway. Wallace used a late pass to take the lead and held off Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric and Kyle Busch for the checkered flag. This marked Wallace's first trip to Victory Lane since his last Truck start (and win) at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2014.

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Chicagoland, 2017: Wallace had another one-race deal in 2017, piloting the No. 98 Nickelodeon Green Slime Ford in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway. He finished with a top 10.

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October, 2017: Wallace is announced as the next driver of the No. 43, beginning in 2018. Wallace will also contend for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. An alliance with RCR is announced in December.

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Daytona, 2018: Wallace embarks on his Sunoco Rookie of the Year season and comes out of the gate strong at Daytona. Bubba scores a runner-up finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, finishing second to the No. 3 car and Austin Dillon.

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Bristol, 2018: In just his 12 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start, Wallace leads his first laps in the series before giving way to eventual race-winner Kyle Busch. Two weeks later, Wallace would also lead laps at Talladega.

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